英國學生科學讀本 Lesson 54 硬殼螃蟹(2)

Many crabs are found with sea-weed and even with shell-fish growing on their backs. This helps them to catch the little fishes on which they live. The fishes do not notice the crab when its shell is covered in this way.

人們發(fā)現(xiàn)很多螃蟹背上都黏著海草，甚至貝類。這些東西能幫助螃蟹抓住獵物——小魚。蟹殼蓋上了這些東西，魚類就注意不到螃蟹了。

The mother crab carries her eggs under her broad tail. When the young ones come out of these eggs, they are not at all like crabs, and they swim about in the sea. After a while they become like their father and mother in shape, only very much smaller.

母蟹的卵就藏在寬大的“尾巴”(其實是腹部)下面。小蟹剛從卵中孵出來的時候，一點兒也不像螃蟹，在海里到處游。過了一段時間以后，樣子就變得像父母了，只是個頭兒小得多。

But how can a crab grow when it is covered all over with a hard crust? Every year the crab throws off its old crust or shell, and a new and bigger shell soon grows in its place.

但是，螃蟹渾身都是硬殼，怎么長大呢?每年螃蟹都會扔掉舊甲殼，很快，身上就會長出新的甲殼。

There are many kinds of crabs. The little green crabs you see running about in the shallow water on the sea-beach are not the same kind as the large ones which we like to eat. There are crabs with small bodies and very long legs, called spider crabs; and there are land crabs, which spend most of their life on land.

螃蟹的種類很多。你看見在海灘淺水中跑來跑去的那種青色的小蟹，并不是我們愛吃的大個兒螃蟹。有一種螃蟹叫“蜘蛛蟹”，身體很小，腿卻很長;還有“陸地蟹”，一生中大部分時間都是在陸地上度過的。

When you are paddling in the sea, do not let a crab catch hold of your toe with its "nippers;" for these nipping-claws can give a very sore pinch indeed. See how the two crabs in the picture are fighting for a fish. How they are pinching it with their "nippers"! I wonder which of them will get it in the end.

你在海水中走路的時候，可不要讓螃蟹用“鉗子”夾了腳趾頭，因為螃蟹的螯足，夾人可是很痛的!看看這幅畫，兩只螃蟹正在爭一條魚。它們用螯足死命地抓住魚，打得可兇了!不知最后誰能搶到這條魚呢?

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